Today’s Gospel contains perhaps the best-known verse in the Bible: “Judge not, that you may not be judged” (Matt. 7:1). For those not inclined to keep the Ten Commandments, and even less to being reproved for violating them—even if done charitably—this is a go-to verse, an attempt to invoke Jesus…
June is quite the month. On consecutive Sundays, we’ve celebrated the Feasts of Pentecost, Most Holy Trinity and today, the Most Holy Body and Blood. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! At the institution of the Eucharist, Jesus enjoins us: “This is my body that is for you. Do…
The Bible is the book that God has given us to let us know Him, and to let us know how to live. Sometimes, however, it is not always easy for us to understand the lesson. For example, one might ask: Of what relevance is the account of the lives…
The eternal relevance of the scriptures continually blesses us with a lens through which to consider the events and culture of our times. In today’s first reading we encounter Athaliah, a wicked woman, bitter over her own son’s death, setting out to kill off the princes of the royal family.…
Hundreds, maybe thousands of beautiful and insightful books, homilies, papal addresses, and gospel reflections have been written about the Our Father prayer! The treasures of this prayer are inexhaustible. It is truly the Perfect Prayer. It contains the keys to becoming a Saint! Each line offers a truth so deep,…
Dear brothers and sisters, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). Jesus Instructs His Disciples In the gospel reading of today, Jesus gave His disciples directives about performing righteous deeds. Righteous deeds here are all-encompassing. The foremost directive is…
The Book of Kings reports the divine punishment that was predicted for Queen Jezebel, for contriving the murder of an innocent man. Elijah declared, “The Lord said, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the bounds of Jezreel.’” On the other hand, King Ahab wins a reprieve of his sentence, for…
As we meditate on the last chapter of the Gospel according to Mark, the message of Paul VI to Christians comes to my mind. While speaking to some members of Lay Council 48 years ago during the General Audience, Pope Paul VI said: “Contemporary man listens more willingly to witnesses…
The Council of Jerusalem In 50 AD, as documented in the Acts of the Apostles, we learn about the first council of the church. There, at the Council of Jerusalem, the issue presented for consideration was whether circumcision was required of a person to become a disciple of Christ. Proponents…
I have a beautiful hard covered book called, 365 Days with the Saints: A Year of Wisdom from the Saints by Carol Kelly-Gangi. Admittedly, I did not know much more about Barnabas than what we hear at Mass. In this book, it says that Barnabas was given the name “Joseph”…